The Anatomy of a bench

I really like where the Blazers are going. They have a solid core in LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Damien Lillard. The only things keeping them from being next years Golden State Warriors is horrible defense (specifically Damien Lillard), playing in a stacked conference and a potentially stacked division, and a decent enough bench. With that being said, I thought it would be fun to dissect one of he leagues deepest teams in the Clippers and see exactly what goes into a good bench. From there, we can find how the Blazers can build there broken bench into a bench of the highest quality. Because whenever Sasha Pavlovic is getting any minutes ever something needs to be done.

So lets start with at the second point guard off the bench for the Clippers, Eric Bledsoe. Eric has enjoyed a breakout season for the Clips and teams will be looking to steal the guard away to have him run there team. I'm not sold on Eric's potential as a full time starter, but he is a phenomenal backup. What he brings off the bench is serious defense. The second most used lineup for the Clippers features Bledsoe and only gives up 92 points per 100 possessions. That lineup also includes Jamal Crawford, who doesn't have a reputation as a good defender for a reason. Bledsoe has the serious motor that terrorizes backup point guards around the league. That defender off the bench is critical in setting the defensive tone for the backup unit. Matt Barnes is also crucial to the hustle and defense aspect of the Clippers bench. Then of course there is Jamal Crawford who brings great alley oop passes and scoring for the Clippers bench. So second unit defense and scoring are the legs that support a good bench.

Portland's bench pretty much has nothing going for it yet and not owning there 1st round pick this year is not helping. This means the key to building a half way decent bench will be player development and free agents. As important as defense and scoring is, having a point that can run the game and not turn the ball over is pretty important. Eric Maynor can provide this for the Trail Blazers going into the future. With consistent minutes this season for the Blazers, Eric has been a solid back up and has shown that Reggie Jackson may have taken the back up minutes from Maynor, rather than Maynor losing them in OKC. Another intruiging prospect for the Blazers is Meyers Leonard. He is an athletic center that could start over JJ Hickson in the future. For now, all Meyers should focusing on when coming off the bench is rebounding, finishing around, and defending. With these solid players off the bench, the Blazers have somewhere to start when building a bench.

Portland does have other problems other problems that could keep them from the playoffs (defense mainly). But with an improved bench the Blazers can move from the middle of the lottery to contention for the 8th seed out West. Gotta start somewhere right?